Overview of the SALG (Student Assessment of Learning Gains) system:
The SALG system is new. It was developed over the last seven years as part of the SENCER program (Scientists Engaged in New Civic and Environmental Responsibilities).1 Designed originally to assess learning in the sciences, it is most extensively developed for chemistry course, but its creators have expressed considerable interest in (and are willing to support) broadening its applicability. (It has been successfully used in courses on literature, writing, management, education, historiography as well as a variety of physical and social sciences.) The SALG is still being developed and refined; studies are presently underway to determine its validity and reliability. SCU has the opportunity to play a substantial role in those studies.
The SALG system also consists of two basic forms, one Pre survey and one Post survey. The Pre-survey is to be given to students at the beginning of the term and asks four kinds of questions. The first section surveys students’ level of understanding relating to various disciplinary practices, including e.g., how practitioners think about problems, identify good reasoning, and use evidence appropriately. The second sectionassesses students’ feelings of confidence and competence about activities they will be asked to perform in class. The third section asks students about their level of interest in issues and activities related to the subject being studied. The fourth section retrieves basic demographic data, such as gender, age, major, GPA, etc. All sections and all questions are virtually infinitely malleable. One may add questions, delete questions or change questions to suit one’s educational objectives at will. The only restriction is that the developers request that the modified documents retain the original’s focus on student learning.
The Post-survey is administered near the end of the term. The basic Post-survey begins with a question asking students to assess the impact of various course elements on their learning. The question is divided into subsections that focus on the overall design of the course; class activities; tests, projects and other graded assignments; educational resources used (textbooks, sample exams, etc.); information they were given about the course (policies, expectations, meta-information); and support they received as individual learners. The second set of questions asks about how well they understand certain concepts and practices as a result of the course. (Presumably, the questions in this section correspond to those in the first section of the Pre-survey.) The third set of questions asks students to assess their development of skills used within the discipline, following up on the second section of the Pre-survey. The fourth section asks students about gains they made as a result of the course, and the final section asks students about what they think they will take away from the course. As with the Pre-survey, all questions and sections are essentially infinitely variable. Instructors can also vary the kinds of answers they elicit, from narrative, to short answer to Likkert scale; they can even invent their own answer scales.
After the grades have been handed in, and the survey is closed, the faculty member can view simple reports that aggregate the data from the two surveys. (They may also view the raw data if they wish). At present, the reports show the range of responses and the averages and standard deviations (for questions that solicit non-narrative responses). Narrative responses are simply listed.
The SALG system is currently an online instrument only.
Advantages of the SALG system:
- The SALG system is considerably more flexible and adaptive than the IDEA system. Individual faculty members can customize it to assess exactly what they are interested in.
- The structure of the SALG system reflects a broader and arguably more sophisticated understanding of both teaching and learning than the IDEA system.
- Because the SALG system encourages individualization, it makes extra-individual comparison (and misuse of comparison) difficult.
- SCU can bring the instrument “in-house” developing it and refining it to suit our specific needs—individual, departmental and institutional.
- The SALG system is free.
Disadvantages of the SALG system:
- Customizing the surveys to reflect one’s course goals may take more time than filling out an FIF and analyzing an IDEA report, especially the first few times through.
- At the moment, the SALG lacks the sophisticated reporting and supporting research of the IDEA system. Santa Clara would have to develop our own reports and standards.
- Because the SALG was designed to focus purely on assessing student learning, any administrative/evaluative dimensions will have to be developed internally.
- Validity and reliability of the instrument has yet to be determined.
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